Discussion Topics for Today's Classroom

Posts Categorized: Entertainment

Facebook has changed the way people do a lot of things online. For example, you probably notice yourself reflexively clicking ‘like’ on anything your friends post on Facebook, even if it’s just to acknowledge you saw it. Scammers are taking advantage of that reflex for a dangerous scam called “like-farming.” Source: USA Today Date: March 7th,… Read more »

Peeple, a controversial app that invites members to recommend others professionally, personally or as a date, is to launch in the US and Canada on Monday 7 March. The app caused uproar when the idea was unveiled last year because people could be added and rated without their consent. Now only members who have signed up will… Read more »

The phone has 8GB storage and cameras in the front and back, and its model resembles Apple’s iPhone 4, including the home button and icons. “This is our flagship model and we think it will bring a revolution in the industry,” the AFP news agency quoted a spokeswoman as saying. Source: BBC Technology News Date: February 19th, 2016… Read more »

“You create this perfect profile, using your best photographs and most creative lines of text, to create this persona, and you start to believe this persona that you’ve created. Everyone else on the app is doing exactly the same thing. You spend a few weeks sending lines of text to each other, and you eventually… Read more »

Source: Mental Floss Date: January 29th, 2016 Link: http://mentalfloss.com/article/53792/17-ancient-abandoned-websites-still-work Discussion 1) It has been said that we are destined to repeat our mistakes if we don’t understand history. How might a review of these “ancient” websites help us? 2) Why do you think these sites are still up and running, some of them 20 years after they are… Read more »

A controversial Facebook effort to expand Internet access in India that has come under withering criticism from tech activists. “Free Basics,” formerly known as Internet.org, offers a free, stripped-down version of the Internet to consumers who cannot afford a broadband connection or smartphone data plan. The service provides information on health, travel, jobs and local… Read more »

It’s a common worry among parents – the amount of time children spend playing computer games. But those endless hours in front of a screen have paid off for some who have become celebrity gamers competing for huge prizes. Source: BBC Technology Date: December 17th, 2015 Link: http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35026796 Discussion 1) Would you watch professionals play a video game,… Read more »

A start-up company based in London is offering to print out chocolate lollipops modelled on customer’s heads. Source: BBC News Date: December 8th, 2015 Link to video: http://www.bbc.com/news/business-34963592 Discussion 1) It is noted in the video that you can already print in chocolate, but this company prints a mold, and then uses a mold to make the chocolate… Read more »

Got any idea of how to make money from news in the online era? Well prepare for the media giants to beat a path to your door, as they struggle with plunging print advertising revenues and an audience that seems to think news should be free. Source: BBC Technology news Date: December 1st, 2015 Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-34943524 Discussion… Read more »